Monday, February 24, 2014

Five years ago, in 2009, I published my first
novel.The title was If You Could Read My Mind – A Nicholas
Turner Novel.It was the story of a
young police detective that loses his wife and unborn child at almost the same
time.When he drifts down into a dark
abyss, he loses his job and his feelings of personal worth.His redemption comes to him ten years later,
when he investigates the kidnapping of a widow’s young daughter…with a little
supernatural help.Nicholas realizes
that what he thinks he lost all those years ago never really left him, and he
has a second chance for happiness.

For years, I worked on and off as a radio
announcer.I prided myself in practicing
different voices, and used them often in my radio programs and in recording
commercials (I can do a really mean Daffy Duck…and Sylvester…and even Bugs
Bunny).For years, I thought that my
personal destiny would utilize those vocal talents.

But, I always enjoyed writing.I didn’t do much of it, because I just wrote
silly little plays and essays over the years for various school grades, or to make
friends smile ("I’ll get the funnel...").

In all the years of working in radio, I kept ideas in
my mind that were suggested to me by various songs that I happened to play
while doing a radio show.I thought it
would be cool to establish a series of books based on what ran through my mind
as I heard these lyrics and titles.

Then, one day when I wasn’t working radio, I had taken a horrible job with a contractor
for a major company.This company’s
focus wasn’t on doing a great job for the major company, but was on dodging
responsibility for mistakes and quickly looking for scapegoats to blame for
their own short-sightedness.After my
working there for almost four years, this contractor had a layoff in 2008.

One of many ideas had been running loose in my head for some time, and I had to get some of them down "on paper", or I was going to go insane! I utilized this time off to write If You Could Read My Mind.Well, I say I wrote it…but, the story actually wrote itself, and took
off in directions that I had never expected.I’ve said previously that the finished product bears very little resemblance
to the story I set out to write.

I published that first book, intending to create a
series featuring Nicholas Turner…and I still believe that the series exists
within my mind.

But, I came up with a series about a
not-quite-by-the-book security company named Justice Security…and it rapidly
took off in my mind, quickly overshadowing Nicholas Turner’s debut novel, with three
novels, four short stories, and one volume containing all three novels, The Best Of Justice Security Volume 1.Madeline, one of the characters from If You Could Read My Mind, has made
cameo appearances in two of the Justice Security stories, Jackie Blue and The Little
Drummer Boy.

Was If You Read
My Mind a masterpiece?No.But, it was a good story…with good
characters.

A follow-up proved to be difficult, with my attentions
on Justice Security, and now, Sardis County.But, the first sequel to that premier novel starring Nicholas Turner is
actually going to be a team-up between Nicholas and Justice Security.The title is Hell’s Bells, and features a darkly intense turning point for the
characters.Some of the main characters
from both series will not survive…but, the book will also offer a new direction
for them.

Because of this, Hell’s
Bells is taking some time to complete.I hope that it’s well accepted by fans of both Nicholas and Justice
Security, and will whet your appetites for what is to follow.

In the meantime, I’ve had fun with the new series that
features a place – Sardis County.The
first story in the series is now available at Amazon.com in both Kindle and
paperback editions.The audiobook is
under negotiation now…I should be able to tell you who will be narrating it
later this week.Coming soon is the
second story in the Sardis County series – Junior’s
Farm.It will introduce you to a few
more people that live in Sardis County, mainly Katie Montgomery and her
daughter, Carol Grace.Margo Sardis also
makes a return appearance, with a huge surprise for Katie.I hope you, as the reader, will enjoy it!

Oh, and just so you don’t think that I only played rock
or Top 40 music in my announcer years, there is a smattering of country songs
that have inspired stories in my mind:(Ghost) Riders In The Sky, Angel Flying Too
Close To The Ground, Boot Scootin’ Boogie, The Thunder Rolls, Ghost In This
House, and Friends In Low Places
are only a few, and will be coming eventually!

Thank you for five years of this roller-coaster ride…I’m
having the time of my life!

Tuesday, February 18, 2014

Last week, I submitted an inquiry to Harlequin asking
about the progress of the submission of Don’t Come Around Here No More – A Tale Of
Sardis County.It had been submitted
for their consideration on October 21, 2013.I received an email confirming receipt of the manuscript.I asked when I could receive a determination
from them.

The response from them was that they couldn’t find a
record of the submission, and suggested that I had sent it to an email that was
no longer being monitored.I was welcome
to re-submit the manuscript.

Rather than allow my inner Tasmanian Devil to come to
the forefront, I politely thanked them for their response.I declined to re-submit, stating that I’d
rather not wait another 12 weeks for their determination.

Saturday, February 15, 2014

I’ve often been asked about the proper order of my
stories. "Where should I start?" "Where do the short stories come in?"

The reason I’m asked this varies, from folks, like
myself, that want to watch the growth of the characters from the beginning of a series.Others just want to fill in some stuff from
the short stories that fit into the continuity of the novels.

Well, let me say this:I try to write each story as a stand-alone story.However, it is true that the short stories
have a certain continuity that enhance the reading of the novels.Characters from the Nicholas Turner book make
appearances in the Justice Security books, and personalities from both stories
will be making appearances in the Sardis County series.

So, with that in mind, here’s the order of the Nicholas
Turner/Justice Security/Sardis County stories:

1 1.If You Could Read My Mind – Nicholas Turner

2.Mama Told Me Not To Come – Justice Security

3.Someone Saved My Life Tonight –
Justice Security

4.Jackie Blue – Justice Security

5.Wake Me Up Before You Go-Go – Justice Security

6.Saturday In The Park – Justice Security

7.Don’t Come Around Here No More – Sardis
County (Should Be Available Week of 2/17/14)

8.MacArthur Park – Justice Security

9.The Little Drummer Boy – Justice Security

10.Junior’s Farm – Sardis County
(Upcoming)

11.Hell’s Bells – Justice Security/Nicholas
Turner (Upcoming)

There’s the order of the “series” stories.The only reason I’ve included the first
Sardis County story, Don’t Come Around
Here No More, is to establish the series.Also, in Junior’s Farm, it is
established that the unnamed city that houses Nicholas Turner and Justice
Security is a six-hour drive from Sardis County…close enough for occasional
crossovers.Junior’s Farm also contains characters first seen in Jackie Blue.

Now, as far as the other stories – The Wreck Of The Edmund Fitzgerald, Gold, and Hot Child In The City – all three of those are stand-alone stories,
with no link at all to any series.

Well, maybe.

It could be argued that since the city in Hot Child In The City is never named,
that it could maybe be in the same
city…but I neither confirm nor deny that argument.It’s up to the reader to decide.

Third on the teleprompter:Saturday
In The Park – A Justice Security Short Story has been completed as an
audiobook, and is going through the validation process with the audiobook
company.It, too, is performed by
newcomer David S. Fischer, and should be finished within the week.

Number four story on the teleprompter:MacArthur
Park – A Justice Security Short Story has also been completed as an
audiobook, and is also going through the validation process.It is brought to life by our old friend, Patrick
Peterson, and it will be through the process and available for sale probably
within the week.

Number five on today’s teleprompter:I have mentioned that another newcomer to the
T. M. Bilderback audiobook universe, Meagan Cunningham, is performing my very
first book, If You Could Read My Mind – A
Nicholas Turner Novel.She’s
completed the first fifteen minutes of the story, and she has captured the
nuances of the conversational portions, and the frustrated impact that life has
had on Nicholas Turner.I wrote that
story from the heart, because I have a daughter, and Meagan has tuned in to
that feeling, because she is a mother as well.I think, once this audiobook is complete, you will thoroughly enjoy it!

I’ve mentioned before that I’m working on Junior’s Farm – A Tale Of Sardis County,
and that I was writing it as a straight romance novel, even though it was
taking place in Sardis County (Where YOU Make The Magic).

I couldn’t do it.

There will still be romance, and action, and suspense…but,
I made a couple of changes in the early chapters of the book, and have taken it
to the proper “Sardis County” level.Once the first Sardis County story, Don’t
Come Around Here No More – A Tale Of Sardis County, is available, perhaps
you will understand what I’m saying better.